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Over&Back NBA – Jason Mann
The life of an ABA player is discussed in the third episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA podcast’s summer series — Basketball Mysteries of the 1970s. Jason Mann is joined by Indiana Pacers great Bob Netolicky, who played all 9 seasons in the ABA, and Ted Green, who has produced documentaries on Pacers legend Roger Brown and coach Slick Leonard.
Listen Here:
Discussion topics include: How the ABA forced innovations into the pro basketball world, including bigger salaries and a wide-open style of play; on- and off-court highlights of the Pacers from 1969 through 1975, where they won three ABA championships and appeared in five Finals; the excellence of Roger Brown and how he’s been forgotten among the great small forwards of all-time; tales from Netolicky’s club in Indianapolis, including sneaking in an underaged Spencer Haywood and giving visiting players free beer the night before games; Slick Leonard’s legendary motivational tactics, including nearly attacking Neto with a hockey stock; how it felt to win a championship in 1970 after blowing it in 1969; why Netolicky was never tempted by the NBA; whether the ABA ever felt stable; and how the former ABA players have forged a deep brotherhood all these years later.
Netolicky and Green are both part of the Dropping Dimes Foundation, which helps former ABA players who are dealing with financial distress.
Donate to Dropping Dimes Foundation TODAY.
Visit Hardwood Paroxysm’s Over&Back NBA Podcast HERE.
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American Basketball Association All-Star Darnell Hillman and Dropping Dimes Foundation President Scott Tarter sat down with Ricky Cobb for The Super 70’s Sports podcast.
Throughout the conversation they move from the story that Hillman – also known as Dr. Dunk – could grab money off the backboard, to his ABA championships with the Indiana Pacers. The three also discuss the many important activities that the Foundation is involved in and the former players Dropping Dimes is helping.
Listen to the full podcast HERE
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Four-time ABA All-Star, Indiana Pacers legend, and Dropping Dimes Foundation Advisory Board Member Bob Netolicky and Foundation President Scott Tarter joined SB Nation Reinis Lacis’s podcast The Handle.
Netolicky and Tarter share numerous stories on the ABA. Bob and Scott both reminisced about the glory days of the league and the Pacers, as well as explained the purpose of Dropping Dimes and the unfortunate financial situation several ABA players find themselves in nowadays.
Listen now:
Topics discussed in the podcast:
02:20 – Scott’s connection with basketball, him rooting for the Indiana Pacers in the ABA days, Darnell Hillman being the favorite Pacer of his;
05:55 – The chemistry of those Indiana Pacers teams, the impact of the Mel Daniels trade and coach Slick Leonard‘s influence on the team;
10:45 – Roger Brown being the best player with whom Bob has played, how Brown was unsure about jumping to the ABA, the finances of that time;
15:25 – A rare radio broadcast of Game 5 of the 1972 ABA Finals between the Pacers and the New York Nets, a clutch three by Bill Keller and a Freddie Lewis steal on Rick Barry;
19:20 – “We Changed the Game” – a book soon to be released on the ABA, which will contain nuggets previously unavailable to the public;
25:10 – ABA vs. NBA, the fierce battles and the animosity being primarily created by front office people;
29:55 – A Mel Daniels vs. Flynn Robinson fight which was halted by San Diego Conquistadors coach Wilt Chamberlain picking Daniels up;
31:45 – The opening game at Market Square Arena, a win against the Milwaukee Bucks in which Bob faced up against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in front of an ABA record crowd;
35:55 – The story behind the Dropping Dimes Foundation, how it supports former ABA players who aren’t doing well financially, the support Mel Daniels and Bob Netolicky offered, the Roger Brown documentary “Undefeated”;
42:35 – The bad conditions in which several former ABA players find themselves in, the lack of a pension plan for which Bob is fighting;
45:55 – Future goals of Dropping Dimes and information about donating to the foundation;
49:00 – The upcoming 50th anniversary of the ABA, additional information on the book;
53:05 – Scott meeting the members of the board, having to tell Willie Wise, Louie Dampier and Dan Issel that once upon a time he rooted against them.
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